How the Queen's man about crowns brought sparkle to her celebrations

A woman holds a model used in the production of the Imperial State Crown of India worn in 1911 by King George V in India, in Garrard's flagship store in Mayfair on April 6, 2011 in London, England.

Photograph by: Oli Scarff
, Getty Images

Show David Thomas photographs of royal diadems and coronets and it's as if you've presented him with snapshots of old friends.

"Ah, now this is the Imperial Crown of India," says the former Crown Jeweller (1991 to 2007), his eyes lighting up. "It was made for George V to wear at the Delhi Durbar in 1911 and is divided into eight arches, which shows it is for an emperor. Four arches is for a king or queen, one for the Prince of Wales."

Next in the line-up is Queen Victoria's diamond tiara, made for her in 1870.

"This is my favourite," he enthuses. "It's as light as a feather. Queen Victoria suffered from migraines, you see, and she didn't want anything heavy around her head.

"The St Edward's Crown, which was placed on our Queen's head at her coronation, weighs five and a half pounds. What with that and the heavy robes, I think there was a lot of shoulder-massaging once the ceremony was over."

Mind you, that was nothing compared to the kerfuffle on her wedding morning in 1947, when the fringed tiara she was to wear (made for Queen Mary in 1919) snapped. Urgent repairs by the then Crown Jeweller saved the day.

Indeed, being Crown Jeweller is a 24/7 job. In addition to regular trips to the Tower of London for coronet-cleaning and maintenance, the holder of the post is permanently on call.

"Even on holidays abroad, I'd pack my morning suit and a stiff-collared white shirt in case I got the call," says Mr Thomas, 69. "The job entails not just keeping the current monarch's crowns and jewels in order, but ensuring all is ready in the event of a coronation."

In other words, the Crown Jeweller is on succession stand-by, ensuring that the paraphernalia that will adorn the person of the Prince of Wales on the day he is crowned king remains in a state of scramble and lustrousness.

Mr Thomas has a long-standing connection with Prince Charles; it was the Prince who recommended him to the Queen, and also engineered his departure from his first employers, Collingwood of Conduit Street (he joined at 17, as a jewellery-cleaner and postboy), to Garrard &amp; Co of Regent Street.

"The Spencer family were my clients at Collingwood's," he recalls. "As I understand it, there was a slight rift over the price of the engagement ring that [rival jewellers] Garrard's made for Diana. Garrard's decided that they needed the future king of England as their client, so they headhunted me in 1986. They held the warranty as Crown Jewellers, and the idea was that I'd eventually take over from Bill Summers, who was the Crown Jeweller at the time."

And so the mantle was placed around the shoulders of David V Thomas (he uses the V, for "Vyvyan", to distinguish himself from a fellow jeweller). Little had he imagined, as a chemist's son growing up in post-war Swansea, that one day he would be the Queen's man about crowns.

Not that he's ever made great capital out of his royal connections. Ask him to reveal the inscription engraved on the inside of Diana, Princess of Wales's wedding ring and he blanches. That said, he does have a few royal gems he can pass on. For example, the late Queen Elizabeth's attachment to her pearls.

"As she got older, she couldn't bear to be without them," he says. "I remember having to re-string an entire necklace in the course of a day, which was a challenge. For many years, I worked with Princess Diana, recording, photographing, cataloguing and adjusting the pieces of jewellery given as gifts."

His dedication to the royal cause has been recognized, not just in his being the awarded the MVO (Member of the Victorian Order, for services to the Queen herself) but in the way in which the Crown Jewellers warranty was removed from Garrard once he had left (it is now with Kentish jeweller Harry Collins).

For his part, Thomas thinks the dropping of Garrard &amp; Co was due to the way in which the firm's reputation was tarnished when it was taken over (and merged with rivals Asprey) by the Sultan of Brunei's famously profligate playboy brother Prince Jefri ("a bit of a naughty boy," he says).

Nevertheless, when it comes to the workings of the monarchy, his instinct is not to question but to marvel.

"I viewed my time as the Crown Jeweller as a great privilege," he says, with cheery reverence. "There aren't many jobs in which you find yourself handling the Black Prince's ruby, the very stone that Henry V wore in his crown at the Battle of Agincourt."

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